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Emissions of the acidifying pollutants (nitrogen oxides (NO X ), sulphur oxides (SO X ) and ammonia (NH 3 ) have decreased significantly in most of the individual EEA member countries between 1990 and 2009. Emissions of SO X have decreased by 76%, NO X by 41% and NH 3 emissions by 26% since 1990.
The EU-27 is on track to meet its overall target to reduce emissions of SO X and NH 3 as specified by the EU’s National Emissions Ceiling Directive (NECD). However a number of individual Member States, and the EU as a whole, anticipates missing their NECD 2010 emission ceilings for NO X .
Of the three non-EU countries having emission ceilings for 2010 under the UNECE/CLRTAP Gothenburg protocol (Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), both Liechtenstein and Norway reported NO X emissions in 2009 that were substantially higher than their respective 2010 ceilings.

This indicator is discontinued. No more assessments will be produced.

Key messages

Emissions of the acidifying pollutants (nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX) and ammonia (NH3) have decreased significantly in most of the individual EEA member countries between 1990 and 2009. Emissions of SOX have decreased by 76%, NOX by 41% and NH3 emissions by 26% since 1990.

The EU-27 is on track to meet its overall target to reduce emissions of SOX and NH3 as specified by the EU’s National Emissions Ceiling Directive (NECD). However a number of individual Member States, and the EU as a whole, anticipates missing their NECD 2010 emission ceilings for NOX.

Of the three non-EU countries having emission ceilings for 2010 under the UNECE/CLRTAP Gothenburg protocol (Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), both Liechtenstein and Norway reported NOX emissions in 2009 that were substantially higher than their respective 2010 ceilings.

What progress is being made in reducing emissions of acidifying pollutants across Europe?

Note:This chart shows past emission trends of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and ammonia (NH3) in the EEA-32 and EU-27 group of countries. In addition - for the EU-27 - the aggregated Member State 2010 emission ceilings for the respective pollutants are shown

In the EEA-32 region and within most (20 of 32) countries, emissions of the three acidifying pollutants SOX, NOX and NH3 have decreased significantly between 1990 and 2009 (Figure 1). Further details of these reductions are provided in the separate indicator factsheets for SOX, NOX and NH3, together with assessments of the progress being made by countries towards meeting their respective 2010 emission ceiling limits.

The reduction in total acidifying emissions across the EEA-32 has occurred mainly as a result of decreased SOX emissions - since 1990 these have decreased by 76% (Figure 1). Emissions for the other two acidifying pollutants have also decreased since 1990, although not to the same extent. Key reasons behind the observed reductions in emissions are provided in the 'Specific assessment' section below.

The global recession that commenced mid-2008 has also contributed to the emission reduction of NOX and SOX emissions between 2007 and 2009. For example, emissions of SOX and NOX in the EEA-32 have fallen by 28% and 15% respectively between 2007 and 2009, a significantly greater reduction than in the preceding years.

Further details concerning emissions of the individual acidifying pollutants in individual EEA-32 member countries, may be found in the following indicator fact sheets:

The Gothenburg Protocol under the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) and the EU Directive on National Emission Ceilings (NECD) (2001/81/EC) both set emission ceilings for the acidifying pollutants that countries must met by 2010. The NECD and Gothenburg protocol are both currently being reviewed. The revision of the NECD is part of the implementation of the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution, and a proposal for a revised directive is expected by 2013. A proposal for a revised Gothenburg protocol is presently under international negotiation. The revised protocol is expected to include emission ceilings to be met by 2020 for the four already regulated substances (NOX, NMVOCs, SOX and NH3) and in addition for primary emissions of PM2.5.

How do different sectors and processes contribute to emissions of acidifying pollutants?

Contributions by sector for emissions of acidifying pollutants (EEA member countries)

Note:The contribution made by different sectors to emissions of acidifying pollutants

These same sectors have also each contributed the most to the overall total reduction of the respective pollutants since 1990. Factors that have contributed to the reduction in these sectors include:

for SOX, a) the impact of European Union directives relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels, and b) fuel switching from high-sulphur solid (e.g. coal) and liquid (e.g. heavy fuel oil) fuels to low sulphur fuels (such as natural gas) for power and heat production purposes within the 'energy industries', industry and domestic sectors;

for NOX, the introduction of flue-gas abatement techniques (e.g. flue gas desulphurisation, NOX scrubbers and selective (SCR) and non-selective (SNCR) catalytic reduction) and introduction of combustion modification technologies (such as use of low NOX burners) and

for NH3, a reduction in livestock numbers in the agricultural sector (especially cattle) since 1990, changes in the handling and management of organic manures and from the decreased use of nitrogenous fertilisers.

Units

ktonnes (1000 tonnes)

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

Emissions of acidifying substances cause damage to human health, ecosystems, buildings and materials (corrosion). The effects associated with each pollutant depend on its potential to acidify and the properties of the ecosystems and materials. Substantial reductions in sensitive ecosystem areas subjected to deposition of excess acidity have occurred since 1990 and even more since 1980. Nevertheless, the area subjected to acid deposition beyond its critical loads in 2010 will still exceed about 10% of the EEA-32 natural ecosystem area.

The indicator supports assessment of progress towards meeting the national emission ceilings of the Gothenburg Protocol under the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) and the EU Directive on National Emission Ceilings (NECD) (2001/81/EC).

Scientific references

Policy context and targets

Context description

Within the European Union, the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NEC Directive) imposes emission ceilings (or limits) for emissions of the acidifying pollutants nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and ammonia that harm human health and the environment (the NEC Directive also sets emissions ceilings for a fourth pollutant - non-methane volatile organic compounds).

Other key EU legislation is targeted at reducing emissions of air pollutants from specific sources, for example:

transport;

industrial facilities and other stationary sources.

Internationally, the issue of air pollution emissions is also being addressed by the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (the LRTAP Convention) and its protocols. A key objective of the protocol is to regulate emissions on a regional basis within Europe and to protect eco-systems from transboundary pollution by setting emission reduction ceilings to be reached by 2010 for the same 4 pollutants as addressed in the NECD (i.e. SO2, NOX, NH3 and NMVOCs). Overall for the EU Member States, the ceilings set within the Gothenburg protocol are generally either slightly less strict or the same as the emission ceilings specified in the NECD.

Targets

Emissions of SO2, NOX and NH3 are covered by the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) (2001/81/EC) and the Gothenburg protocol under the United Nations Convention on Long-Range Transboundary
Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) (UNECE 1999). The NECD generally involves slightly stricter emission reduction targets than the Gothenburg Protocol for EU-15 Member States for 2010.

Table: 2010 Targets under the NEC Directive and the Gothenburg Protocol, in kt

2010 NECD ceilings

2010 CLRTAP Gothenburg Protocol ceilings

NOX

SOX

NH3

NOX

SOX

NH3

Austria

103

39

66

107

39

66

Belgium

176

99

74

181

106

74

Bulgaria

247

836

108

266

856

108

Cyprus

23

39

9

Czech Republic

286

265

80

286

283

101

Denmark

127

55

69

127

55

69

Estonia

60

100

29

Finland

170

110

31

170

116

31

France

810

375

780

860

400

780

Germany

1051

520

550

1081

550

550

Greece

344

523

73

344

546

73

Hungary

198

500

90

198

550

90

Iceland*

Ireland

65

42

116

65

42

116

Italy

990

475

419

1000

500

419

Latvia

61

101

44

84

107

44

Liechtenstein

0.37

0.11

0.15

Lithuania

110

145

84

110

145

84

Luxembourg

11

4

7

11

4

7

Malta

8

9

3

Netherlands

260

50

128

266

50

128

Norway

156

22

23

Poland

879

1397

468

879

1397

468

Portugal

250

160

90

260

170

108

Romania

437

918

210

437

918

210

Slovakia

130

110

39

130

110

39

Slovenia

45

27

20

45

27

20

Spain

847

746

353

847

774

353

Switzerland

79

26

63

Sweden

148

67

57

148

67

57

Turkey*

United Kingdom

1167

585

297

1181

625

297

* Iceland and Turkey do not have a ceiling under either the NEC Directive or the Gothenburg protocol.

Related policy documents

Directive 2001/81/EC, on nation al emissions ceilings (NECD) for certain atmospheric pollutants. Emission reduction targets for the new EU10 Member States have been specified in the Treaty of Accession to the European Union 2003 [The Treaty of Accession 2003 of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. AA2003/ACT/Annex II/en 2072] in order that they can comply with the NECD.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

This indicator is based on officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to EEA and UNECE/EMEP (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe/Co-operative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention), submission 2011. For the EU-27 Member States, the data used is consistent with the emissions data reported by the EU in its annual submission to the LRTAP Convention.

Base data, reported in the UNECE/EMEP Nomenclature for Reporting (NFR) sector format are aggregated into the following EEA sector codes to obtain a consistent reporting format across all countries and pollutants:

Energy production and distribution: emissions from public heat and electricity generation, oil refining, production of solid fuels, extraction and distribution of solid fossil fuels and geothermal energy;

Energy use in industry: emissions from combustion processes used in the manufacturing industry including boilers, gas turbines and stationary engines;

Industrial processes: emissions derived from non-combustion related processes such as the production of minerals, chemicals and metal production;

Other: emissions included in national total for entire territory not allocated to any other sector

The following table shows the conversion of Nomenclature for Reporting (NFR) sector codes used for reporting by countries into EEA sector codes:

EEA classification

Non-GHGs (NFR)

National totals

National total

Energy production and distribution

1A1, 1A3e, 1B

Energy use in industry

1A2

Road transport

1A3b

Non-road transport (non-road mobile machinery)

1A3 (exl 1A3b)

Industrial processes

2

Solvent and product use

3

Agriculture

4

Waste

6

Commercial, institutional and households

1A4ai, 1A4aii, 1A4bi, 1A4bii, 1A4ci, 1A4cii, 1A5a, 1A5b

Other

7

In addition to historic emissions, Figure 1 of the indicator factsheet also shows the latest 2010 projection estimates reported by the EU-27 Member States under the NEC Directive. The "with measures" (WM) projections reported by Member States take into account currently implemented and adopted policies and measures. Where countries have instead reported "business as usual" or "current legislation" projections, it is assumed for comparison purposes that these are equivalent to a WM projection. The "with additional measures" projections reported by Member States take into account additional future planned policies and measures but which are not yet implemented.

Methodology for gap filling

An improved gap-filling methodology was implemented in 2010 that enables a complete time series trend for the main air pollutants (eg NOX, SOX, NMVOC, NH3 and CO) to be compiled. In cases where countries did not report emissions for any year, it meant that gap-filling could not be applied. For these pollutants, therefore, the aggregated data are not yet complete and are likely to underestimate true emissions. Further methodological details of the gap-filling procedure are provided in section 1.4.2 Data gaps and gap-filling of the European Union emission inventory report 1990–2009 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP).

Methodology references

EMEP/EEA (2009). EMEP/EEA Air Pollutant Emission Inventory Guidebook - 2009
The 2009 update of the emission inventory guidebook prepared by the UNECE/EMEP Task Force on Emissions Inventories and Projections provides a comprehensive guide to state-of-the-art atmospheric emissions inventory methodology. Its intention is to support reporting under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive.

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

The use of gap-filling for when countries have not reported emissions for one of more years can potentially lead to artificial trends, but it is considered unavoidable if a comprehensive and comparable set of emissions data for European countries is required for policy analysis purposes.

Data sets uncertainty

NOX emission estimates in Europe are thought to have an uncertainty of about ±20% (EMEP, 2010), as the NOX emitted comes both from the fuel burnt and the combustion air and so cannot be estimated accurately from fuel nitrogen alone. However, because of the need for interpolation to account for missing data, the complete dataset used will have higher uncertainty. The trend is likely to be more accurate than the individual absolute annual values - the annual values are not independent of each other.

Overall scoring: (1-3, 1=no major problems, 3=major reservations)

Relevancy: 1

Accuracy: 2

Comparability over time: 2

Comparability over space: 2

SOX emission estimates in Europe are thought to have an uncertainty of about +/-10% as the sulphur comes from the fuel burnt and therefore can be accurately estimated. However, because of the need for interpolation to account for missing data, the complete dataset used will have higher uncertainty. EMEP has compared modelled and measured concentrations throughout Europe (EMEP 2010). From these studies, differences in the annual averages have been estimated to be +/-30%, which is consistent with an inventory uncertainty of +/-10% (there are also uncertainties in the measurements and especially the modelling). The trend is likely to be much more accurate than individual absolute values

Overall scoring: (1-3, 1=no major problems, 3=major reservations)

Relevancy: 1

Accuracy: 2

Comparability over time: 2

Comparability over space: 2

NH3 emission estimates in Europe are more uncertain than those for NOX, SOX and NMVOCs due largely to the diverse nature of major agricultural sources. It is estimated that they are around +/- 30% (EMEP, 2009). The trend is likely to be more accurate than the individual absolute annual values - the annual values are not independent of each other.

Overall scoring: (1-3, 1=no major problems, 3=major reservations)

Relevancy: 1

Accuracy: 2

Comparability over time: 2

Comparability over space: 2

Rationale uncertainty

This indicator is regularly updated by EEA and is used in state of the environment assessments. The uncertainties related to methodology and data sets are therefore of importance.